The Mask of Happiness
by KittyKatThePsycho
Summary: Shadow is slightly curious about Sonic's constant cheerful attitude, but makes a discovery that shocks him.


A/N: So here is another fanfic about Sonic and Shadow! A bit different and Sonic's personality may be a bit unusual, but this is merely a fictitous piece of work. Reviews are appreciated. I hope you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the hedgehog or any other characters. SEGA does.

He had been alone for so long that the only thing he knew was solitude.

That was why he found it hard to understand the blue hedgehog teenager who was as friendly as he was talkative. He did not understand why someone would surround themselves with people, care about them, knowing that when those people were gone the only thing that remained was suffering. He just couldn't understand it. Then again, there were many things about the teenager he did not understand.

The Ultimate Life Form found Sonic slightly intriguing, to a fault of course- the little Faker could be annoying as hell when he wanted to be. But if there was one thing that Shadow found the most intriguing about Sonic, it was his optimism. Hell, he even secretly admired it, although he would never admit it. He had never seen the blue hedgehog crying or sad... He had seen the teenager angry quite a few times, but other than that, nothing. Not even a hint of sadness. Was it because he surrounded himself with others that he was able to feel such happiness? Or was it something else? Shadow did not judge from the surface- he knew, better than most, that things were never what they seemed. And the day came when Shadow found out the truth behind Sonic's signature smile...

It had started as any other day would have. Eggman's plots had been foiled yet again by Sonic and his friends, so they had decided to celebrate by having a party at Silver's house. Shadow had been forced to accept Sonic's overly eager invitation as Rouge had insisted that it was unhealthy for him to spend so much time alone. When he had nearly refused, she had walked up to him and given him one of her looks...and as much as he hated to admit it, the look on her face had made his legs turn to jelly and so he'd said yes before his face began to turn red... And he would have never heard the end of it from her if she knew she was able to make him blush. However, the party only started early evening, so Shadow was left alone as Rouge had gone to help Amy, Cream and Blaze with food preparations.

He decided to go for a run and that's when he caught sight of the blue teenager heading into the woods by himself. Curious, Shadow followed him, wondering if the Faker wouldn't mind a race. Of course, Shadow knew that if he started his sentence with the words "Hey, Faker..." then there would be an argument and a fight. A friendly fight... Shadow said to himself, worried that Rouge might somehow hear him... She did have super hearing after all and it wouldn't surprise him if she could read his mind as well... She was more scary than death itself at times... The ebony hedgehog went into the forest, being as stealthy as he possibly could, when he found the Faker standing in a clearing alone. It seemed the Faker was talking to himself... "Well, today went alright... I just wish I could've prevented Tails from hurting his hand... It looks really burnt... I mean, I know Amy said it was only a first degree burn, but I could have stopped it if I'd been there with him, instead of being distracted by those damn robots! And Shadow... I haven't seen that Faker for a while... I hope he's okay..."

This surprised Shadow slightly. The teenager actually cared about him? Suddenly, he saw the Faker drop to his knees. At first, Shadow thought he'd been injured, but then his ears picked up a sound. It was sobbing... His red eyes widened. Sonic was sobbing? No, it was impossible! Sonic never cried! But as the sobbing seemed to increase in sadness, the ebony hedgehog felt his throat constrict. He couldn't imagine what could have made the blue hedgehog so sad that he would sit on his knees and sob about it. It disturbed Shadow, he wasn't used to seeing Sonic that way.

Suddenly, Shadow saw the flash of something metallic and his eyes widened further. It was a blade! Without thinking, Shadow leapt onto Sonic and grabbed the blade and threw it to the side. He held Sonic down and stared at him, his red eyes filled with worry. "Don't you even think about it, Faker!" For a moment, Sonic looked confused and then he saw who it was. "Sh-SHadow, what the hell are you doing here? And get off me, would ya!" "So that you can end your life? I think not!" The ebony hedgehog glared at the blue teenager, who looked shocked. "End my life? No, I wasn't going to kill myself!" "Then what the hell were you going to do with that blade?" Shadow scowled and Sonic sighed. He supposed that there was no other way to get the paranoid hedgehog off of him.

He closed his eyes and lifted the illusion over his left arm, which had been created by using a small amount of Chaos energy. Shadow stared at all the cuts, some old and faded, some still red and barely healed that seemed to cover the Faker's arm from his wrist to his shoulder. "You... You cut yourself." "Wow, Shadow, did you figure that out all by yourself?" Sonic looked annoyed, but frowned when the ebony hedgehog looked at him. "But why?" Shadow's mind couldn't believe it. "You are Sonic the hedgehog! The blue, speed-loving, chilli-dog munching hero whom I call Faker! You're always smiling... and so full of happiness.. So full of joy that I admire it so much, but you..." Sonic gave him a sad smile. "Not everyone is who they appear to be. Just like you're not the villain so many think you are, I am not always as happy as others think. But a hero can't be sad, ya know? It just aint right... So when I am really sad, I can't really talk about it cos I gotta be strong for my friends... But eventually it becomes too much and this is one of the most effective ways to deal with the pain. Crying gets tiring after a while." Shadow nodded- he knew exactly what Sonic meant.

"Have you ever thought about it, Sonic?" Shadow looked at him, a serious expression on his face. "Wha-oh... that. I have, but I could never really do it..." Sonic laughed. "I'm too much of a scaredy cat..." He stared at the ebony hedgehog. "What about you?" Shadow smiled and stood up. He pointed to his chest. "Gunshot, straight to the heart." He pointed to his throat. "Slit it with a knife." He pointed at his head. "Another gunshot." He pointed to his wrists. "Slit them with a razor." Sonic's eyes widened, but Shadow continued. "I have tried poison... I have tried drowning... I have tried burning... But, here I stand." He smiled sadly at Sonic. "I am not strong enough to deal with pain, like you are, Sonic." He knelt down and touched Sonic's arm, which he frowned at. "Things like this are not easy to talk about, and many people do not understand. So, I understand why you hide it, but next time you feel this way, please come speak to me. I know that I may be the last person you want to talk to, but..." Before Shadow could finish, Sonic had him in a bear hug and he was grinning.

"Thanks so much, Shads! You know, Rouge was right, you're a real old sweetheart!"

Shadow went red in the face. "She said that?"

"Yeah, and a whole other bunch of nice stuff about you. Hehehe, why do you seem so interested? Do you like her?"

Shadow growled. "What! Faker, shut up!"

Sonic smirked. "I'll take that as a yes!"

He put his hand on Shadow's shoulder. "But... thanks for helping me feel better, Shadow. I really appreciate it and if it means anything to you, you are the only person I'd talk to about these things." Sonic smirked. "Cos ya so sweet!"

Shadow glared at him. "Don't get used to it, Faker! And I actually came here for a race."

"Hahaha, I'm only to happy to oblige but you wanna know what?" Sonic smiled.

"What?"

"You're too slow, FAKER!" And with that, Sonic took off, causing Shadow to growl and run after him. He could hear the blue teen's laughter echoing as they ran and he couldn't help but smile to himself. Don't worry, Faker. He thought to himself. As long as I live, you don't ever have to cut again. Cos... I'm your friend and I'm here for you. Just like you've always been for me and everyone else.


End file.
